NBA Free Premium Play 04/05: Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons

Boston  at Detroit

NBA - 807 Boston Celtics @ 808 Detroit Pistons Play #2 I understand that it seems a bit excessive to release a play w/ DET being favored by 6 points vs. anyone in the NBA, but in my opinion, we are getting some value as my fair line is actually DET-9/-10. I had a small lean w/ DET last night vs. BKN as I expected them to completely dominate the glass vs. undersized Nets’ team, and indeed they crushed them by having an impressive 68.6% reb/rate% & 19-2 edge in offensive boards. The problem was that DET’s awful perimeter defense got torched by the Nets w/ 15-31 3pts. The Nets’ Power Forwards’ Pierce & Teletovic completely killed them by hitting 9-16 from 3pts, while exposing DET’s frontcourt pair Drummond & Monroe on the defensive end. The good news for today is that they will face a Celtics’ team playing without R. Rondo & A. Bradley. Unlike BKN, BOS is really struggling shooting from long range! In L5 games, they had a dismal 23% mark behind the line – worst mark in the league! Without Rondo, the Celtics’ offense doesn’t have the same “flow” and they don’t have shooters as well. It looks like. K. Humphries is OUT as well for tonight and most likely, BOS will start w/ Bass & Sullinger… two undersized frontcourt players that will have some problems vs. DET’s frontcourt size! While DET’s bad perimeter defense won’t be exposed by BOS, I expect DET to control the glass and score some easy points in transition vs. a Celtics team that suddenly stopped in getting back to the defense (L3 games they have allowed 26, 21 and 10 fast break points!). Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 808 Detroit Pistons (-6) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA 03/11 Free Premium Play: Sacramento Kings @ Detroit Pistons

Sacramento  at Detroit

NBA - 553 Sacramento Kings @ 554 Detroit Pistons Play #1 It is almost impossible to predict anything from both teams let alone a game between them. Fact: Both teams simply can’t hit outside shots right now (and mostly for the season as well!)! In L10 games, DET is shooting just 31.7% - ranked #27 while SAC is shooting 30.6% - ranked #28! Basically, this game will be decided by the performance of both front court units! SAC in L2 games have faced TOR & BKN – two teams that were excellent in pressuring SAC PG’s Isaiah Thomas and did a great job in doing that has Thomas had 5-13 FG & 5/1 A&TO ratio @TOR and 3-14 FG & 4/7 A/TO ratio @BKN… w/ him being limited, SAC committed 17 & 25 TO’s! The good news is that we can expect Thomas to bounce back against the awful DET perimeter defense! SAC has been a bit better w/ defensive rebounding while offensively, Cousins is clearly more skilled than A. Drummond and I expect him to really dominate this contest while I have my fair line for this contest as being a pure 50/50 game Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 553 Sacramento Kings (+2.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 01/11: Phoenix Suns @ Detroit Pistons

Phoenix  at Detroit

NBA - 507 Phoenix Suns @ 508 Detroit Pistons Play #5 After struggling for 5 consecutive games in which DET couldn’t reach the century mark in points, DET offense had the perfect matchup last night vs. PHI, and indeed they took advantage of it by scoring 114 points. DET was able to complete dominate the offensive glass – they had 60% reb/rate% w/ the incredible number of 25 offensive rebounds! Against the undersized and shorthanded PHI interior defense, DET scored 50 points and they even scored 24 fast break points as well! Tonight’s game will be different…. First of all, PHX is ranked #1 in transition defense and so, I don’t expect the Pistons to have such big numbers in transition. I understand that PHX’s frontcourt is undersized & “soft” but they will pack the paint tonight knowing that DET struggles to score from the perimeter. They did exactly the same thing @MIN already in this week and it worked pretty well b/c Kevin Love & Pekovic struggled to score down low. Note that in L3 games, PHX rim defense has been spectacular by allowing their opponents to shot < 50% FG! On the other side, PHX is really missing E. Bledsoe… Their ball movement hasn’t been good, just look for their assists numbers L5 games: 18, 20, 12, 19 & 19 and obviously, with such problems in generating good outside looks, the Suns are struggling to hit their perimeter shots - L3 games = 6-23, 11-29 & 11-30. DET perimeter defense is subpar at best but they won’t be explored by PHX tonight. Finally, note that both teams have terrible physical spots going for tonight w/ 4th game in 5 night’s, so we can expect this contest to not bet a particularly good game to watch. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 507/508 Under 206 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/30: Washington Wizards @ Detroit Pistons

Washington  at Detroit

NBA - 701 Washington Wizards @ 702 Detroit Pistons Plays #1 & 2 Washington will always be a tough match up for Detroit due to the fact that they are a decent team in protecting the basket, while they have been a good jump shooting team on offense, an area where Detroit's defense struggles. This was basically what happened on the last game between these two teams. The Pistons's front court was well defended with Greg Monroe shooting just 6-9 FG and even though he was efficient, he could just attempt nine shots. Andre Drummond shot just 2-5 FG, while Josh Smith shot 2-7 FG, before being benched on the second half. The Pistons as a team ended that game with just 1-4 FG on post up plays, so they would need a great outside shooting game to be competitive, but they were horrible with 7-38 FG from +10 feet shots for a horrible 18%! On the other hand, the Wizards's offense took advantage of Detroit's bad team help defense on the perimeter. John Wall was aggressive and assisted help his teammates to help his team to end the game with a great 34 assists mark, something that help them ending the game with a nice 9-19 3pts! The Wizards also had a surprising edge on the boards battle and everything was very easy for them. For tonight's game, both teams aren't on a back to back spot and the match up edge will be the same for the Wizards. Of course Detroit will come more aggressive this time around and they'll win the boards battle, but the rest is maintained for this game, so I believe the Wizards have great value as underdogs tonight. I also believe both teams will have good offensive outcomes in here tonight, so I'll be taking both the Wizards and the Over on this contest. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701/702 Over 202,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701 Washington Wizards (+3) @ -115 / 1.87 on Bovada

NBA Free Premium Play 12/20: Charlotte Bobcats @ Detroit Pistons

Charlotte  at Detroit

NBA - 809 Charlotte Bobcats @ 810 Detroit Pistons Play #4 This is a great matchup for a low scoring game, as both teams are indeed poor shooting ones who need to score near the basket to be effective on offense. The problem is that both interior defenses are excellent and they won't allow that in here. Charlotte is a top 3 team on rim defense and #1 on paint defense with 35.7 points per game allowed. On the other hand, the Bobcats are also #1 on fast break points allowed per game! Therefore, they are the perfect defense to stop Detroit's offense! The Pistons' defense struggles on spot ups, but Charlotte isn't the right team to take advantage of that with their poor outside shooting. On the other hand, the Pistons' post up defense is excellent and they will make Al Jefferson's job on offense very difficult. Kemba Walker will also struggle with his small size to score near the basket over Detroit's very big frontcourt formed by Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith. Therefore, I expect both defenses to dominate the opposing offenses in here and so, I'll be taking the Under in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 809/810 Under 192 @ -115 / 1.87 on Bovada

NBA Free Premium Play 12/16: Detroit Pistons @ Indiana Pacers

Detroit  at Indiana

NBA - 701 Detroit Pistons @ 702 Indiana Pacers Play #1 The Pistons wasted last night a great chance to upset one of the best teams in the league but they choked down the stretch and eventually they lost @OT against Portland. POR’ tired legs was quite evident as they couldn’t hit their outside shots, they ended the game w/ 7-26 3pts so the Pistons were able to build a nice lead, because their edge on the post was tremendous (as expected!). DET scored 68 points in the paint while 65% of their shots were from less than 9feet! With Josh Smith having a huge game on the post, the Pistons finished the game w/ nice 12-21 FG, 1.12 PPP in post up plays. Unfortunately, their key players logged major minutes: Greg Monroe, 39 Josh Smith, 46 Andre Drummond, 44 Brandon Jennings, 45 Is not going to be easy for DET to have a decent game @IND tonight and tired legs won’t be THE major factor. DET is going from having a pretty favorable matchup for their offense vs. poor interior POR defense to have to face the BEST interior defensive team in the league! We can expect a natural offensive letdown from them because w/ their inside game limited, the Pistons aren’t a good jump shooting team. However, note that the Pistons are ranked #1 post up defense in the league! David West & Roy Hibbert will have to work hard in order to have efficient offensive games. Naturally, the Pacers are going to dominate on the perimeter but they are a bit inconsistent as well. This 193-points line is a bit overrated in my opinion as we should be dealing w/ 190-points line, therefore I’m taking the Under as my Single Dime Play! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701/702 Under 193 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/15: Portland Trail Blazers @ Detroit Pistons

Portland  at Detroit

NBA - 805 Portland Trail Blazers @ 806 Detroit Pistons Play #4 This will be a fun game to watch between two teams with completely different styles but with the matchup favoring both offenses. The Blazers are playing an incredible fluid offensive basketball right now. They are the best 3pts shooting team in the league w/ 41.9%, and last night they torched the 76ers w/ 21-37 3pts & 41 assists – that’s what happened when the Blazers is playing against poor perimeter defensive teams and guess what… the Pistons are a terrible perimeter defensive team: ranked #26 defending 3pts% w/ 37.8%. This isn’t a surprise at all if we take in account that their frontcourt of Smith + Monroe + Drummond is so big and slow to rotate, so their opponents are torching them from the outside. However, on the other side, the Pistons huge frontcourt will just pound the Blazers poor interior defense that is ranked #26 allowing 45.8 points in the paint per game. The 76ers scored 52 pts paint last night and I expect DET to score +50 pts paint as well today. In the first h2h game of this series, I went w/ OVER for an easy winner as the game ended w/ 212 points w/ DET scoring 60 points in the paint & POR hitting 11 treys. I expect a similar outcome for today and therefore I’m taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 805/806 Over 209.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/01: Philadelphia 76ers @ Detroit Pistons

Philadelphia  at Detroit

NBA - 505 Philadelphia 76ers @ 506 Detroit Pistons Play #1 Detroit is coming from a home loss against the Lakers due to a huge late choke by getting outscored 15-29 in the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Pistons got crushed once again via outside shooting. The Lakers didn't even try to attack the rim, they settled for jumpers and with success, as they shot 14-31 3pts, while scoring just 28 points in the paint. Detroit's offense was the complete opposite with an incredible 76 points in the paint and 31-53 FG at the rim! The Pistons also scored 25 fast break points. The Pistons will now host Philadelphia and this will be a tough matchup for Detroit, especially on defense. The Pistons struggled on their perimeter defense and even though Philadelphia isn't a very efficient team, they attempt a ton of treys plus they have Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes in the frontcourt who shoot a lot from the outside and who will force both Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to get out of their comfort zone. Of course that on the other side, Detroit will have a mega edge down low against Philadelphia, who is coming from two games where they allowed 60 and 52 points in the paint. Both teams are also in the top 6 regarding fast break points, so this will be an uptempo game with both offenses outplaying the defenses. Therefore, I'll be taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 505/506 Over 206 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

Detroit Pistons NBA Team Season Preview 2013-14

DETROIT PISTONS

Season Review 2012/13:

Advanced Stats
	Numbers	Rank
Pace	90.8	22
Offense	103.8	21
Defense	108.1	24
Rebound	50.4	12

4 Factors
Offense	Numbers	Rank	Defense	Numbers	Rank
eFG%	48.7	19	eFG%	50.5	21
TO%	14.3	28	TO%	13.1	24
Reb%	28.3	9	Reb%	27.0	24
FT%	19.7	20	FT%	20.9	20

Monthly Performance
	Record	OffRtg	DefRtg
November	5-12	103.5	107.3
December	6-10	106.6	108.9
January	6-7	104.9	108.1
February	6-8	104.1	110.5
March	1-13	101.8	118.5
April	5-3	113.4	107.5

After starting the previous season with a 4-20 record and being a definitive losing team since early on, the Pistons managed to maintain the same line last season by being the second last team in the league to win a game by losing the first eight games of the season.

In normal conditions it would be really hard for the Pistons to be a competitive team due to their unbalanced roster, but the doubts were destroyed since early on. Once again, the team’s backcourt was ridiculous during the whole season, something that has happened since Joe Dumars took the decision to trade Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. It’s now clear that Rodney Stuckey isn't the team’s Point Guard for the future, while Brandon Knight has also disappointed as a PG, as he is mostly a Shooting Guard due to his lack of court vision and playmaking abilities, as seen with his 4.0 assists/game and 2.7 TO/game ratio.

However, not everything was terrible for the organization, as some of their young players developed quite smoothly and that might be the key for the team’s present/future: Greg Monroe confirmed to be a good offensive player and with rare playmaking abilities for a big man: with 3.5 assists/game, he was the #2 center in the league on this area, just behind Marc Gasol.

On the other hand, both Kyle Singler and especially Andre Drummond were rare wins for Dumars, who has been accumulating terrible decisions after terrible decisions since he became the team’s GM. In fact, if it wasn't for him to correctly select Drummond in the draft and probably he wouldn't be the team’s GM right now.

In order to get some cap room, Dumars didn't hesitate in trading the only remaining player from the 2004 championship team, Tayshaun Prince, during mid-season for the expiring contract of Jose Calderon.

Offseason Report:

Joe Dumars had finally some flexibility on his cap to make some movements in order to improve the team’s roster. The team will still have to pay one more year of contract to Charlie Villanueva, but all the other bad contracts are now gone.

With cap room available, the Pistons signed Josh Smith on free agency. With Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond locked up in the frontcourt, Detroit didn’t need to improve the frontcourt, but the same wasn’t true regarding the backcourt.

Brandon Knight didn't convince anybody in Detroit as PG and Dumars traded him for Milwaukee in order to get Brandon Jennings. Knight is very young and he didn't have a nice team to develop conveniently, so perhaps he deserved another opportunity in Detroit, but that didn't happen.

Detroit benefited from another high draft pick and Dumars selected Kenavious Caldwell-Pope to be another option for the team’s backcourt. Peyton Siva was also selected in the draft for the same reason. On a unit that is really young and so they were in need of an experienced player to guide them, Dumars found the ideal player for that: Chauncey Billups!

We can’t say that Dumars didn't try everything to improve the team’s roster. The signing of Maurice Cheeks as the new head coach was a surprise to me, if we consider the other candidates for the position that were rumored by the media.

MLB Premium Play 05/17: Detroit Tigers @ Texas Rangers

MLB - 921 Detroit Tigers @ 922 Texas Rangers

(Starting Pitchers: R. Porcello vs N. Tepesch)

I like Detroit to bounce back tonight, on a contest between two of the top three offenses in the league. What makes me like the Tigers tonight is that I expect Porcello to have a better outing than Tepesch. Porcello had a disastrous outing at LA against the Angels, but then he bounced back with three nice outings. He hanged Atlanta, Houston and the red hot Indians with 5, 7 and 6 strikeouts, something nice for someone who is known for struggling to strikeout batters. His 3.49, 1.85 and 3.53 xFIP numbers on these outings also show how he has been pitching well lately. Of course he will have a tough test tonight, but I expect him to use his experience to hang in there.

On the other side, Nick Tepesch had a super hot start of the season and then he started to regress. He is coming from a nice start at Houston, but before that he got crushed against the White Sox and the Cubs by allowing 6 and 5 runs. His split stats are extreme, as he has been getting crushed by LH batters by allowing .317 BA and 5.02 FIP against them! Detroit knows that and they will use the following lineup tonight:

1. Andy Dirks (L) LF

2. Torii Hunter (R) RF

3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 3B

4. Prince Fielder (L) 1B

5. Victor Martinez (S) DH

6. Alex Avila (L) C

7. Jhonny Peralta (R) SS

8. Don Kelly (L) CF

9. Ramon Santiago (S) 2B

That's six batters hitting from the left side, while the RH batters are Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta, three guys who are hitting +.300 BA this season! I expect Tepesch to get pounded tonight and so, I'll take the Tigers as underdogs tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 921 Detroit Tigers ML (w/ R. Porcello) @ +115 / 2.15 on Betonline

NBA Premium Play 04/17: Detroit Pistons @ Brooklyn Nets

NBA - 513 Detroit Pistons @ 514 Brooklyn Nets

Projected Line: 200 points

The Nets will use their starters tonight for about 18-24 minutes, in order to get them some practice for the playoffs. I don't expect Brooklyn to show any kind of defensive intensity tonight and Detroit will certainly explore that with their backcourt formed by Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, while their frontcourt with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond will certainly do some damage as well. On the other side, the Pistons has given up on defending for a while now and therefore, even the Nets's second unit shouldn't have problems in scoring against them tonight. I expect this game to be a relatively fast paced game, with both teams showing good offensive efficiency, therefore I'll be taking the Over in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 513/514 Over 195.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 04/12: Charlotte Bobcats @ Detroit Pistons

Charlotte  at Detroit

NBA - 713 Charlotte Bobcats @ 714 Detroit Pistons Projected Lines: 201 points Detroit won at Cleveland on their last game, while showing excellent interior offense from Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, who combined 52 points on 20-29 FG shooting plus 19 rebounds! In the 25 minutes these two players were on court together, the Pistons outscored the Cavaliers by 68-50! In that game, neither team really defended and so, it was very easy for both teams to score on the inside. Detroit shot 27-36 (75%) FG at the rim, while Cleveland shot 70,6% FG from the same area. The game didn't have more points scored because both teams struggled from the outside, with the Pistons shooting 4-16 3pts and the Cavaliers 3-15 3pts. Also without Jose Calderon, Detroit is more dangerous on pick and roll ball handler plays with Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, as they penetrate very well into the basket, unlike Calderon who doesn't have that approach, as he is a long-range shooter. The Pistons will now host the Bobcats and there is an immediate edge for Detroit tonight. The difference between having Greg Monroe & Andre Drummond and Josh McRoberts & Bismack Biyombo is huge! The Pistons's frontcourt isn't a great defensive duo, but the Bobcats's frontcourt has minimal offensive skills. On the other hand, Charlotte will be able to take advantage of the Pistons's poor defense from their guards and the poor rotation from the Pistons's frontcourt to pound them on pick and roll ball handler plays from Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson. Charlotte should also have a nice edge on transitions due to Detroit's poor transition defense, so I expect a very high scoring in here and therefore, I'll be taking the Over on this contest. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 713/714 Over 197,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes

MLB 04/11 Free Premium Play: Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers

Toronto  at Detroit

MLB - 905 Toronto Blue Jays @ 906 Detroit Tigers (Starting Pitchers: J. Johnson vs D. Fister) ***EARLY GAME*** Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 905/906 Under 8 (w/ J. Johnson & D. Fister) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bovada

NBA Premium Play 04/10: Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers

NBA - 705 Detroit Pistons @ 706 Cleveland Cavaliers

Projected Line: 201 points.

Cleveland is coming from a game at Indiana last night, where the Pacers were asleep for the first three quarters of the game with terrible ball movement and terrible outside shooting: 4-16 3pts and 3-10 FG from 16-23 feet. Also Roy Hibbert and David West didn't take advantage of their huge edge down low. Then, on the fourth quarter, Cleveland wasn't able to stop Indiana's transition plays and the truth is that the Pacers ended with 33 fast break points. Kyrie Irving wasn't supposed to play back to back games, but things have changed as he will play tonight, while Dion Waiters will be also back, so Cleveland will have some scoring punch tonight due to the their guards.

On the other hand, Detroit is coming from a home win against Chicago, where they showed good offense: 53.4% FG, 9-18 3pts and 25 assists! With Jose Calderon out, Rodney Stuckey is now the team's starting PG and with that, the Pistons's defense is quite poor. They are very slow with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond on the frontcourt, while Kyle Singler is also heavy for the SF position. This turns them into a terrible pick and roll ball handler defense team, something that Cleveland should take advantage with Irving and Waiters tonight. The good part for the Pistons is that their offense has now good explosiveness with Stuckey playing at the PG position instead of Calderon. Note that they scored 18 and 16 fast break points on their last two games, while they weren't able to score double digits on this area on their four previous games. I also expect Monroe to pound Cleveland down low, so I believe this game will be a very high scoring game. Therefore, I'll be taking the Over in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 705/706 Over 198 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 04/01: Detroit Pistons @ Toronto Raptors

Detroit  at Toronto

NBA - 731 Detroit Pistons @ 732 Toronto Raptors Projected Line: Toronto by 3 points Both teams played yesterday and they lost. Toronto didn't have a lot of chances against a shorthanded Wizards, as I had predicted on my Over play, Toronto's poor perimeter defense didn't show any effort and they were unable to stop John Wall, who ended the game with 7-15 FG and 10 assists. On the other hand, Detroit was super competitive at Chicago last night for the first time in a few games. It was interesting to watch Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond outplaying Chicago's frontcourt! Even though Detroit lost the game by 1 point, the team outplayed Chicago by 8 points when Greg Monroe was on the court and by 11 points when Andre Drummond was on the court! The Pistons's frontcourt duo will be decisive on tonight's game, as I expect Detroit to be competitive in here. These two teams faced each other in Detroit last week, in a game where the Raptors had a huge third quarter, where they outscored Detroit by 36-15 to achieve a 99-82 blowout win at the end. That game was the first time Drummond started a game alongside Monroe and they were completely outplayed by Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, who combined 16-22 FG, 34 points, 21 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 blocks! Their defensive positioning wasn't the best, while the team didn't take advantage of them on offense. Detroit played much better yesterday and against a much tougher opponent like the Bulls and so, I expect the frontcourt battle to be at least competitive tonight. With a balanced battle down low, I don't see the Raptors having the edge on the backcourt tonight, especially with Jose Calderon fired up on his first trip to Toronto as a Piston. Therefore, I expect a much closer contest than the lines are suggesting and so, I'll be taking the Pistons tonight. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 731 Detroit Pistons (+6.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 03/26: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Detroit Pistons

NBA - 653 Minnesota Timberwolves @ 654 Detroit Pistons

Projected Line: Minnesota by 3 points | 199 points

***ADDED PLAY***

Minnesota is definitely playing much better basketball than Detroit right now and even though we are talking about a team that is 8-27 on the road, I believe the Wolves should be favored on this contest. Detroit had a phase where they were competitive, but that hasn't been happening lately due to some atrocious defense. They are averaging a defensive rating of 117.4 since the All Star break and that's simply absurd! Greg Monroe has stopped defending, while the Pistons's perimeter defense has been even worse. Not only Detroit is currently the worst 3pts defensive team in the league since the All Star break with 42.5% 3pts allowed, as their pick and roll ball handler defense is currently non-existent! Detroit has been poor all season long on defending pick and rolls by being #23 in the league with 0.83 PPP allowed, but they numbers since the All Star got even worse! They simply couldn't stop Kemba Walker on their last game, who ended the contest with 10-20 FG and 25 points!

The struggles of the Pistons's defense are obviously good news for Minnesota, who has a healthy Ricky Rubio to torch Detroit's defense tonight. I expect the Wolves's backcourt to dominate this game. Jose Calderon has no foot speed to defend Minnesota's guards, while Brandon Knight returned from injury on the team's last game against the Bobcats, but he looked completely out of form with 4-10 FG, 4 assists and 5 turnovers! On the frontcourt, the duel will be interesting, but I don't expect Minnesota to get outplayed on this area. Detroit is now rotating more their players and in some moments on their game at Charlotte, the Pistons played with Jonas Jerebko and Charlie Villanueva together on the frontcourt. This also helps to explain why Detroit is struggling on defense so much right now. On the other side, Minnesota with Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko should have talent on the frontcourt to handle Detroit down low, while the Wolves's superior backcourt should make the difference on this game. Therefore, I'll be taking Minnesota tonight and the Over in a shootout contest.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 653 Minnesota Timberwolves (PK) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

ADDED PLAY:

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 653/654 Over 195 @ -115 / 1.87 on Bovada

NBA Premium Play 03/22: Detroit Pistons @ Miami Heat

NBA - 807 Detroit Pistons @ 808 Miami Heat

Projected Line: 202 points

Detroit's defense has been historically bad lately. These are their defensive ratings from their last 10 games: 104.83; 118.86; 117.81; 102.29; 114.74; 135.73; 122.48; 128.68; 122.09; 137.55! That's an average defensive rating of 120.5! Considering they will now face the best offensive team in the league, another poor defensive performance for them seems inevitable tonight. The Pistons's defensive rebounding is also very poor and they are allowing 70% FG at the rim. Greg Monroe refuses to defend and the Pistons are now the worst 3pts defensive team in the league since the All Star break, after having led the league in 3pts% allowed early on the season for a full regression: first to last! There are several reasons why their defense has been so poor. First of all, their available players are indeed poor defenders and that is getting exposed due to Tayshaun Prince getting traded to Memphis and both Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond being currently unavailable due to injuries. These three players were the best defensive players of Detroit early on the season and with all three out of the lineup, the Pistons's defense collapsed. 

Miami is coming from a game in Cleveland, where their offensive letdown in the first half was entirely their fault, with a bunch of open shots being unusually missed. But when they woke up in the second half, they torched the Cavaliers's defense with 34+30 points in the second half. For today, I expect Miami's spot to be better than it was against Cleveland, especially since they play at home. On the last game between these two teams, Miami's offense crushed Detroit with 56% FG, 56 points in the paint, but they shot just 5-17 (29.4%) 3pts. Looking at Detroit's current defensive level and their regression on their perimeter defense, I can only expect Miami to have a huge offensive game tonight. On the other hand, Detroit has some chances of having a decent offensive game in here. They scored 10, 12, 17, 26 and 20 fast break points on their last five games and 50, 62 and 52 points in the paint on their last three games. Looking at Miami's typically lazy transition defense on "easy" games and their undersized lineup, Detroit has a good chance of scoring tonight in quick transitions and also pound the Heat's undersized interior defense with Greg Monroe. Therefore, I expect a high scoring game on this contest and so, I'll be taking the Over in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 807/808 Over 198,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 03/18: Brooklyn Nets @ Detroit Pistons

Brooklyn  at Detroit

NBA - 507 Brooklyn Nets @ 508 Detroit Pistons Projected Line: Brooklyn by 7 points Detroit's defense is a complete mess right now, as they have been averaging a defensive rating of 117.5 since the All Star break and 124.7 on their last five games! The Pistons have also (together with Phoenix) the worst 3pts defense in the league since the All Star break with 43% 3pts allowed, something ridiculous for a team that earlier on the season was even #1 in the league in 3pts% allowed at a certain time! Their interior defense isn't looking any better, with Greg Monroe refusing to defend anyone right now. Portland scored 54 points in the paint against them and it's only enough to see DeAndre Jordan's super dunk over Brandon Knight to realize how ridiculous is the defensive positioning of the Pistons's defense nowadays. By the way, Knight is by far their best perimeter defensive player and he is unfortunately out for tonight's game. On the other side, Brooklyn lost yesterday against Atlanta and this wasn't a surprise for me, as I took the Hawks last night. Even though Brooklyn had a great spot with 3 days off to rest prior to this game, Atlanta's coach used the right starting lineup for this contest with Al Horford, Josh Smith, Kyle Korver, Devin Harris and Jeff Teague. With this kind of explosiveness, Brooklyn quickly got into deep trouble, as their roster is big and slow to handle Atlanta's quickness. Thanks to that, the Hawks scored 22 fast break points for a huge 11-17 FG in transitions for 1.35 PPP! Besides that, Atlanta's speed was evident also at the rim with 19-27 (71%) FG and this combination of good offensive numbers for Atlanta was simply too much for Brooklyn. The Nets had a huge rebounding edge, they had good post up numbers, but that wasn't enough for them to compensate their defensive inability to stop Atlanta's quick offense. Tonight Detroit will offer a completely different matchup to Brooklyn. Besides Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, Detroit is a slow team just like Brooklyn, without any kind of explosiveness. After all, four of their starters are slow footed guys: Jose Calderon, Kyle Singler, Jason Maxiell and Greg Monroe. Detroit's interior defense is non-existent right now, so Brook Lopez will pound the Pistons down low tonight. Detroit's post up defense has been horrible since the All Star break with 0.93 PPP allowed, their defensive rebounding is also in regression since Andre Drummond was injured, so Brooklyn will have another big edge tonight in here. The Nets have been shooting well from the perimeter lately and considering Detroit's horrible 3pts defense, Brooklyn will also have another edge in here. But the key of this game has to go with the spots of both teams and the matchup between Detroit's offense and Brooklyn's defense. I know the Nets are on a back to back spot tonight, but their spot isn't that bad, as they had 3 days off to rest prior to yesterday's game. Their lack of speed won't get exposed today as Detroit isn't an explosive team, so I believe they will be fine. Regarding Detroit's offense, it's mostly based on pick and rolls from Jose Calderon, Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey, but Brooklyn is #5 on the league on pick and rolls defense with just 0.75 PPP allowed. The first two games of the season between these two teams were close contests, but Detroit's current level is very far from the level that they showed in those two games earlier on the season. Detroit is 0-8 on their last eight games and they are back to their level early on the season when they started their season with eight straight losses. Therefore, I expect an easy win for the Nets tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 507 Brooklyn Nets (-3,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 03/10: Detroit Pistons @ Los Angeles Clippers

NBA - 817 Detroit Pistons @ 818 Los Angeles Clippers

Projected Line: LA Clippers by 17 points

This is a really poor spot for Detroit, who had a make a huge trip from their home to play at LA tonight, after facing Dallas last Friday night. The Clippers are coming from a road loss at Denver, but they had 2 days off to rest prior to tonight's contest. Jamal Crawford and Eric Bledoe are questionable for tonight, but Bledsoe has been a non-factor recently with just 0, 13, 15, 9, 16 and 15 minutes played on the team's last six contests!

After a good run immediately after the trade that gave them Jose Calderon, the Pistons are now playing at a poor level once again. Their offense looks stagnant and they had just 19 assists against Dallas on their last game. Their pick and roll ball handler game has been horrible with just 0.61 PPP on their last 10 games and with Greg Monroe alone on the down low, teams have quickly figured out how to stop their offense: just don't let the Pistons feed Monroe down low, even if that means give space to the Pistons's backcourt on the perimeter, as they aren't great shooters from the outside. The Clippers won't have problems in limiting Monroe today with their powerful frontcourt unit. On the other hand, with Chris Paul having a huge offensive edge over Jose Calderon, the Clippers should have a good offensive game today.

The LA team is coming from a loss at Denver on a big game for them. With the Grizzlies's win yesterday, the Clippers went sent into the #4 seed in the West. They are angry and so, we can expect them to put on a show tonight. They have some huge edges on the offensive end over Detroit's poor defense, as Chris Paul will take advantage of Jose Calderon's lack of speed, while Jason Maxiell is undersized to stop Blake Griffin, while the Pistons's bench has been looking hapless on their last few games. Rodney Stuckey has shot 0-5 FG, 0-5 FG and 0-1 FG on the team's last three games, Andre Drummond is still injured and the Pistons don't really have a reliable big man to help them on the down low. These flaws are just too much for Detroit to overcome tonight against an elite team playing at home and coming off a loss, therefore I'll be taking the Clippers tonight on an easy blowout win for them.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 818 Los Angeles Clippers (-14) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 03/03: Detroit Pistons @ San Antonio Spurs

NBA - 811 Detroit Pistons @ 812 San Antonio Spurs

Projected Line: 196 points

San Antonio has received bad news, as they will be without Tony Parker for a month, while Gary Neal, Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson will be also out for tonight. The Spurs had problems in crushing Sacramento on their last game, in a game where its pace was higher than 100 and where the Spurs's offense had 41 assists! For tonight's game, I expect to see San Antonio being more focused on defense. This is because the last time these two teams faced each other, back in Detroit earlier on the season, the Spurs had their worst defensive game of the season by allowing 119 points and an incredible offensive rating of 130.76 to the Pistons! I remember that game very well. San Antonio was completely surprised by Detroit, who set a fast pace that completely surprised the Spurs. Detroit had super offensive numbers with 51.7% FG, 10-22 3pts, 15 fast break points and 52 points in the paint! These numbers were too good to be done against an elite defense like the Spurs, so I expect San Antonio to get "revenge" from that game and try to shutdown Detroit's offense tonight.

On the other hand, Tony Parker absolutely crushed Jose Calderon in that game with 10-16 FG, 31 points and 8 assists. Parker's absence on this game will remove the biggest edge that the Spurs had for this match. Not that Calderon will shutdown the Spurs's guards, but things will be easier for the Spanish player without having to defend Parker tonight. For tonight's game, with San Antonio being focused and with Greg Monroe struggling against Tim Duncan, Detroit's offense will struggle as their guards are too inconsistent to handle the team's offense on their own. They had a good game against the Hornets's poor perimeter defense, but things will be different against San Antonio. After a stretch where the Pistons pretty much wanted to play run and gun, they are now back at their usual slower pace and I believe tonight's game will have nothing in common to the game played between these two teams back in Detroit. San Antonio will have another approach to their game plan, while Detroit will also try to play slower than they did in the first game. Therefore, I expect this contest to be a low scoring game and so, I'll be taking the Under in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 811/812 Under 200 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker